They didn't get a shot at goal in until the 27th minute in a laboured and scrappy performance, in which they were missing star attacker Neymar due to an ankle injury he suffered in their opening match against Serbia.
Striker Vinicius Junior appeared to have scored, but it was ruled out for offside. The deadlock was eventually broken by an unlikely source in the 83rd minute. Defensive midfielder Casemiro put the ball in the net after being set up by an impressive flick from substitute Rodrygo.
The other game in Group G was anything but dull. After Cameroon opened the scoring against Serbia, the Serbs scored twice in first half stoppage time to snatch the advantage.
A goal eight minutes after half-time had the Serbs looking very good indeed. The side known as the Indomitable Lions lived up to their name, with Cameroon scoring twice in the space of four minutes to level the game by the 66th minute.
Star striker Vincent Aboubakar proved to be a wise substitution, having scored one of those goals and set up the other within eleven minutes of coming on the pitch. It was now three goals each and there the score stayed.
In Group H, Portugal is through to the knockout stage after a two-nil win over Uruguay. They dominated most of the match, although the goals didn't come until the second half - both of them from Bruno Fernandes.
The first one was intended as a cross for Fernandes' former Manchester United team mate, Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo missed it - but so did the Uruguayan defence, and the ball ended up in the back of the net.
The result was sealed in second half stoppage time with the Video Assistant Referee awarding a penalty, which Fernandes put past the goalkeeper.
Garnering plenty of headlines, too, was the other game in Group H. Ghana versus South Korea was an encounter with plenty of twists and turns. The Black Stars went up two-nil in the first half only for the Koreans to score twice in four minutes early in the second half to level the score.
But poor Korean defending decided the match, helping Mohamed Kudus score his second goal to put Ghana up three goals to two in the 68th minute and the scoring finished there.
Ghana will face Uruguay in their final group stage game. While at the same time, Korea Republic will face Portugal.
